Why were the Air Jordan 1 shoes illegal in the NBA?

On October 18th, 1985, NBA commissioner David Stern banned the Air Jordan I sneaker from the NBA. He felt that they failed to meet on-court dress codes and did not match the uniform of the Chicago Bulls. Commissioner David Stern began fining Michael Jordan $5,000 every time he wore the Air Jordan I's on the court. Nike paid the fine and continued to have Michael wear the shoes. In doing so, the popularity of the product skyrocketed and sales were astronomical for the product.

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